Page 33 of Craving Venom

“Faith!”

I snap my head up at the sound of my name and spot Trevor weaving through the crowd toward me. Oh, great. Because this night wasn’t already a shitshow.

“Hey,” he says with a wide smile plastered across his face as he stops in front of me. He’s holding a red Solo cup, which immediately makes me suspicious because I know for a fact Trevor doesn’t drink.

“Uh, hey,” I reply, shifting awkwardly and slipping my phone back into my pocket. My shoulders tighten instinctively, and I glance around, hoping for a way out, but there’s no Tria in sight.

“You look… good,” Trevor says, giving me one of those slow up-and-down looks. “I didn’t think you’d show up to something like this.”

“Yeah, well, here I am,” I say with a stiff shrug.

He chuckles, stepping a little closer. “I’m glad you did. I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

Oh, fuck no. I don’t want to do this. “Uh, talk about what?”

“About… last time. You know, when we—” He pauses, his cheeks turning a faint pink. “When I kissed you.”

I force out a laugh, waving my hand dismissively. “Oh, that? Don’t worry about it. It’s, uh, water under the bridge.”

“Is it?”

“Yes,” I say quickly, too quickly. “Totally. Let’s just forget it happened.”

“I shouldn’t have done it,” he says, ignoring my very clear attempt to move on. He looks down at his drink as though he’s embarrassed, which would almost make me feel bad if this wasn’t so fucking uncomfortable. “Especially when you were… you know, still grieving.”

“Wait—what?”

“I mean, after Jason. I should’ve been more considerate.”

“How the fuck do you know about Jason?”

Trevor’s eyes widen slightly, and he quickly shakes his head. “Oh, shit. I didn’t mean to, I mean, it’s not like I was prying or anything. People talk, you know? Stuff just… gets around.”

“What people? Who the hell told you about Jason?”

He rubs the back of his neck, his smile turning sheepish. “It doesn’t matter. I just—look, I’m sorry if I made things weird before. That’s all I wanted to say.”

Yeah, sure. Because this isn’t fucking weird at all now. I step back slightly, trying to put some distance between us. “Okay. Apology accepted. We’re good. So, uh… I should probably—”

“Come on, Faith,” he says, his tone softening as he steps closer again. “You know, you don’t have to be so closed off all the time. I get that you’ve been through a lot. But maybe you just need someone to… I don’t know, help you open up?”

Oh, fuck no. Nope. Not doing this.

“Faith!”

I turn toward the sound of Tria’s voice. She’s pushing through the crowd, her expression a mix of annoyance and concern.

“There you are,” she says, grabbing my arm and pulling me away from Trevor without so much as a glance in his direction. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

Trevor frowns. “We were just talking.”

“Yeah, well, she’s done talking now,” Tria says sweetly, steering me away before I can even process what’s happening.

I don’t resist. Fuck, I practically cling to her as she leads me through the crowd. When we’re finally out of earshot, she stops and turns to me, her eyes searching my face.

“What?”

Tria turns to me, crossing her arms and giving me a look that could cut glass. “What are you doing, Faith? Trevor is all overyou, and you’re just… rejecting him? He’s practically throwing himself at you.”

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